difficulty urinating

Question
HI there,
I have noticed in the last few months that my house rabbit seems to strain when urinating.  She tries to urinate and nothing comes out then she will try again and she will urinate a little bit-move to another spot and urinate some more.  I have not seen any sludge or blood and my vet has taken x-rays which did not show anything.  She could not get a urine sample at the time because she said that my rabbit's bladder was empty.  I also notice that has these spells where she wants nothing to do with me-she won't come close to me and acts like she is afraid of me-she becomes not playful.  This seems to last about a week or so and then she will turn around and become a very affectionate, lovable,and playful.  Any thoughts?
Thanks!

Answer
Dear Corinne,

If she's straining to urinate, there's something going on, be it a urinary tract infection or bladder sludge.  Please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html

for a rundown of the possibilities.  

A bunny who feels in pain or ill will often seek to escape, even from the person she loves.  It's a defense mechanisms that's hard-wired:  "When I'm weak, I don't want anyone to come near and be able to catch and eat me!"

If a urine sample isn't obtainable, then you might want to ask the vet about putting her on antibiotics to see if this helps.  Often, a urinary tract infection will cause signs like this, and can promote the formation of bladder sludge.  So you can nip two problems with one treatment.

Is the bunny spayed?  Another possibility is that she has a uterine tumor that's pressing on her bladder and causing discomfort.  Unspayed, unbred female rabbits have a very high risk of uterine cancer, so spaying her now is certainly recommended if she is not already "fixed"--though you probably should ask the vet whether it would be wise to get any potential urinary tract infection under control before you consider surgery.

I hope this helps.

Dana